1. Ahmad Yani was born in Jenar, Purworejo, Dutch East Indies on 19 June 1922 to the Wongsoredjo family that worked at a sugar factory run by a Dutch owner.
15 Facts About Ahmad Yani
1. 2.
In 1927, Yani moved with his family to Batavia, where his father worked for a Dutch general.
3.
Ahmad Yani studied military topography in Malang, East Java, but this was interrupted by the Japanese invasion in 1942, forcing Yani and his family back to Central Java.
4.
Ahmad Yani followed this up with a successful defence of Magelang against a Dutch attempt to retake the city, earning him the nickname of the "Savior of Magelang".
5.
Ahmad Yani was noted in this period for the series of guerrilla offensives he launched in early 1949 to distract the Dutch, whilst Lieutenant Colonel Suharto prepared for the 1 March General Offensive targeting Yogyakarta and its suburbs.
6.
In December 1955, Ahmad Yani left for the United States to study at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth.
7.
At Army Headquarters, Ahmad Yani served as Logistics Assistant to the Army Chief of Staff, before becoming Deputy Army Chief of Staff for Organization and Personnel.
8.
Ahmad Yani's troops managed to recapture Padang and Bukittinggi, and this success led to his being promoted to 2nd deputy Army chief of staff on 1 September 1962, and then Army Chief of Staff on 28 June 1962, replacing General Nasution, who was appointed Minister of Defence.
9.
Usually, Ahmad Yani had eleven men guarding his home; his wife later reported another six were assigned to him a week before.
10.
Ahmad Yani later recounted that as she drove away from the home at about 11:00 pm, she noticed someone sitting in the shadows across the street as if keeping the house under surveillance.
11.
Ahmad Yani thought nothing of it at the time, but the events later that morning she wondered differently.
12.
The phone calls continued until about 1:00 am, and Mrs Ahmad Yani said she had a premonition something was wrong that night.
13.
Ahmad Yani spent the evening with official callers; at 7:00 pm, he received a colonel from the Supreme Operations Command.
14.
Ahmad Yani's body was taken to Lubang Buaya on the outskirts of Jakarta and, with the bodies of other murdered generals, was thrown down a disused well.
15.
Ahmad Yani's was posthumously promoted from lieutenant general to a 4-star general.